1,721,024 research outputs found
Favorire la salute mentale nella scuola dell’infanzia. Le figure educative come motori di cambiamento
No full textLa pandemia da Covid-19 ha prodotto un aumento dei disturbi psicologici e comportamentali anche nell’infanzia. Il personale scolastico ed educativo esprime sempre più spesso la necessità di strumenti per affrontare le difficoltà dei piccoli e per tutelare la loro salute mentale. L’obiettivo del presente articolo è quello di offrire alle figure educative spunti pratici e di riflessione che mettano al centro la salute mentale del bambino – in modo da favorirne traiettorie di sviluppo funzionali – e di tutte le figure adulte coinvolte
Lo sviluppo della comprensione sociale. Una rassegna narrativa focalizzata sul linguaggio nella fascia 0-6 anni
No full textL’obiettivo della presente rassegna narrativa è duplice: esaminare lo sviluppo della comprensione sociale nel periodo 0-6 anni considerando congiuntamente i costrutti di teoria della mente (theory of mind, ToM) e comprensione delle emozioni (emotion understanding, EU), non di rado esaminati separatamente; approfondire il ruolo del linguaggio come correlato e predittore di comprensione sociale per entrambi i costrutti. Il lavoro si conclude con l’individuazione di due particolari
aree per la ricerca futura, collegate agli argomenti trattati nella rassegna: lo sviluppo della comprensione sociale implicita, e la validazione di interventi per la promozione della comprensione sociale in soggetti con profilo tipico o atipico.The aim of this narrative review was to shed further light on children’s development
of social cognition in the 0-6 years period, in relation to both theory of mind and emotion understanding, and with a particular focus on language as crucial developmental factor. Two areas of interest were flagged for future research: social cognition in infancy and the implementation of validated intervention programs
Exploring Stress Factors and Coping Strategies in Italian Teachers after COVID-19: Evidence from Qualitative Data
Full text linkTeaching is a mentally and physically demanding profession that can be a source of stress and burnout. The COVID-19 pandemic put further pressure on teachers who had to face sudden challenges, such as online teaching and difficulties in holding students' attention in virtual environments. Research has demonstrated that the negative effects of stress factors on teachers' wellbeing can be modulated by coping strategies. This work explores the main sources of stress that jeopardized Italian teachers' wellbeing after the COVID-19 pandemic and the coping strategies that they adopted. Eighty-six teachers, belonging to five school institutes located in Northern Italy, took part in three semi-structured group interviews, where their perceptions about wellbeing at school and occupational stress experiences were explored. Furthermore, they completed a survey with questions about recent stressful life events and the coping strategies that they had adopted in the last month. A thematic analysis revealed stressors related to four themes: adverse work conditions, a lack of support (from both school administrators and families), precariousness, and a demanding school system. A total of 22% of teachers experienced stressful events in the last month (e.g., health problems and loss), and 30% reported that they had adopted coping strategies, especially emotion-focused ones. The findings may drive educational policies to enhance protective factors for teachers' professional wellbeing at school by reinforcing their individual resources and coping strategies, which can help them deal with challenging situations
Psychological and Educational Challenges of Immigrant Adolescents in Italy: Exploring Mental Health, Life Satisfaction, Student–Teacher Relationship, and Academic Disparities
Full text linkAdolescence is a critical stage marked by identity formation and social challenges, especially for adolescents with migratory backgrounds who must reconcile their ethnic identities with the dominant culture. This study explores the mental health, life satisfaction, student–teacher relationship, and academic achievement of Italian-born, second-generation, and first-generation immigrants. The sample of 680 adolescents (M = 382; F = 280; Prefer not to say = 18; Mean age = 16.77 years) includes native-born Italians (n = 244), second-generation immigrants (n = 210), and first-generation immigrants (n = 226). Data were collected using self-report measures for mental health, life satisfaction, student–teacher relationship, and school achievement. A Multivariate Analysis of Variance identified significant group differences, followed by post-hoc tests to further explore differences between the groups. Second-generation immigrants reported significantly lower emotional well-being compared to their Italian-born peers. Both first- and second-generation immigrants exhibited lower life satisfaction, particularly in peer relationships. In terms of student–teacher relationship, second-generation immigrants perceived higher levels of school danger compared to Italian-born adolescents, possibly driven by discrimination. Academic outcomes revealed significant disparities, with Italian-born students outperforming second-generation immigrants, highlighting the impact of acculturative and bicultural stress. The findings highlight the unique challenges second-generation immigrants face in Italy in balancing cultural integration with preserving their heritage
Social Cognition, Language, and Prosocial Behaviors: A Multitrait Mixed-Methods Study in Early Childhood
No full textResearch Findings: In this study, we investigated associations among social cognition skills (specifically, emotion knowledge and theory of mind), language abilities, and 3 varieties of prosocial behavior (helping, sharing, and comforting) in early childhood. The effects of age and gender were also taken into account. Participants were 149 Italian children between 24 and 47 months of age (M = 35.6 months, SD = 6.77 months). We adopted a multitrait mixed-methods research design, using direct measures of emotion knowledge, theory of mind, and language as well as naturalistic observations of children’s free play with peers to detect the frequency with which they engaged in prosocial behaviors. Ordinal logistic regression analyses showed that helping behaviors were especially accounted for by emotion knowledge and gender, whereas variance in sharing behaviors was mostly explained by theory-of-mind ability and language. Practice or Policy: The findings encourage those involved in early childhood education to develop training and intervention programs to enhance children’s emotional, linguistic, and cognitive skills. Given that these results were obtained with children as young as 2 and 3 years, preventive intervention should be implemented during the earliest years of life
Empathy in Toddlers: The Role of Emotion Regulation, Language Ability, and Maternal Emotion Socialization Style
Full text linkWe investigated, through a cross-sectional study, whether and to what extent toddlers' empathy is associated with a set of individual and family factors known to foster positive social skills in early childhood: children's own emotion regulation, language ability, and maternal emotion socialization style. Participants were 320 toddlers (M-age = 28.8 months; SD = 3.55) and their mothers. The children came from middle-SES families and were recruited at 34 infant-toddler centers. We used parent-report measures to assess the toddlers' competences and a self-report questionnaire to evaluate maternal emotion socialization style (coaching vs. dismissing). Toddlers' empathic responses, as reported by their mothers, were positively and significantly correlated, respectively, with their positive emotion regulation, language skills, and maternal emotion-coaching style. Stepwise regression analysis revealed that emotion regulation and maternal emotion-coaching style contributed to explaining variance in toddlers' empathy, after controlling for the effects of children's age and language ability. Moderation analysis showed that emotion regulation skills did not moderate the relationship between maternal emotion-coaching style and children's empathy. We discuss the implications of these findings
Promuovere le competenze socio-emotive degli insegnanti attraverso un Corso Online per il Benessere
No full textContesto e rilevanza del tema. L’insegnamento è una professione caratterizzata da elevati carichi emotivi e dall’esposizione a molteplici fattori di stress, che spesso determinano non solo alti livelli di stress percepito nei docenti, ma anche effetti negativi sulla relazione con gli alunni e sul clima scolastico. Le competenze socio-emotive sono riconosciute come risorse protettive fondamentali, in grado di supportare i docenti nella gestione più efficace delle sfide professionali. Tuttavia, sviluppare queste abilità è considerato un lavoro personale e rappresenta ancora oggi una questione privata.
Obiettivo principale della ricerca. Il presente studio quasi-sperimentale intende esaminare l’efficacia di un Corso Online per il Benessere nello sviluppo delle competenze socio-emotive degli insegnanti. Tale ricerca si inserisce nel progetto europeo Erasmus+ KA3 “Teaching to Be”, volto a promuovere il benessere professionale dei docenti.
Campione e metodi utilizzati. Hanno partecipato alla ricerca 151 docenti in servizio in Italia, con scuole assegnate in modo casuale al gruppo sperimentale (n = 72) o al gruppo di controllo (n = 79). Tutti i partecipanti hanno compilato prima e dopo l’intervento un questionario validato per la valutazione delle competenze socio-emotive, il SECTRS (Tom, 2012). Gli insegnanti nel gruppo sperimentale hanno seguito per cinque mesi il Corso Online per il Benessere, che consisteva nel videogiocare ad un serious game, creato ad hoc dal gruppo di ricerca, e nel compilare un quaderno di lavoro, riflettendo individualmente e con i colleghi sulle proprie abilità nell’ottica di migliorarle. Durante la sperimentazione il gruppo di controllo non ha svolto alcuna attività, ma ha seguito il Corso Online per il Benessere al termine della sperimentazione.
Collegamento con il tema del workshop. L’intervento effettuato si inserisce nel dialogo tra ricerca scientifica e pratiche scolastiche-educative, sottolineando come lo sviluppo socio-emotivo non riguardi soltanto i bambini e gli adolescenti, ma anche gli insegnanti. Essi hanno un ruolo significativo nella promozione del benessere scolastico, pertanto è necessario investire anche sullo sviluppo delle loro competenze socio-emotive.
Risultati principali. I risultati hanno evidenziato che gli insegnanti del gruppo sperimentale hanno riportato miglioramenti significativi rispetto al gruppo di controllo, con particolare riguardo alla qualità delle relazioni interpersonali con gli studenti, i colleghi e i genitori
Reducing teachers’ perceived stress through an online wellbeing intervention: the role of socio-emotional competence and self-efficacy
Full text linkIntroduction: Teaching is a profession characterized by high emotional demands and exposure to multiple stressors, often leading to elevated levels of perceived stress. Self-efficacy and socio-emotional competence have been identified as key protective resources that enable teachers to cope more effectively with professional challenges. The present quasi-experimental study evaluated the effectiveness of an Online Wellbeing Course (OWC) in enhancing teachers’ socio-emotional competence and self-efficacy and reducing perceived stress.
Methods: A total of 151 in-service Italian teachers took part in the study, with schools randomly assigned to an experimental group (OWC; n = 72) or a control group (n = 79). Participants completed validated measures of perceived stress, socio-emotional competence, and self-efficacy at pre- and post-test.
Results: Teachers in the OWC group reported significant improvements in socioemotional competence and self-efficacy, as well as a reduction in perceived stress compared to the control group. Moreover, pre- to post-test gains in self-efficacy - but not socio-emotional competence - significantly mediated the relationship
between participation in the OWC and reductions in perceived stress.
Discussion: These findings provide empirical evidence for the effectiveness of online wellbeing interventions in supporting teachers’ psychological resources and reducing stress. Implications for teacher professional development are discussed
Promoting teachers' wellbeing through a serious game intervention: a qualitative exploration of teachers' experiences
Full text linkIntroduction. Teachers' wellbeing plays a critical role in their overall job satisfaction, motivation, and effectiveness in building supporting learning environments. In today's dynamic educational settings, where teachers often face numerous challenges and stressors, their wellbeing becomes increasingly vital. Consequently, there is an urgent need to innovate and develop targeted training interventions that can support specifically the wellbeing of educators.
Methods. This study sought to provide an overview of the "Online Wellbeing Course - OWC," a serious game developed to enhance teachers' wellbeing, and to investigate the participants' feedback after being engaged in the OWC, utilizing a qualitative approach through focus group discussions. A total of 189 in-service teachers took part in the study. To qualitatively explore their experiences with the OWC, participants were involved in focus groups and asked to provide feedback about how and to what extent the course was beneficial for their wellbeing.
Results. Teachers reported enhancements in areas such as emotional competence, self-care strategies, social awareness, relationship skills, decision-making, and school climate.
Discussion. These outcomes suggested the potential of serious games as an innovative training approach for supporting teachers' wellbeing, offering valuable insights for researchers, policymakers, and educators
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